The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Title 5, United States Code, Section 552, was signed into law on July 4, 1966, by President Lyndon Johnson. The FOIA has since been amended in 1974, 1986, and most recently, with the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996. The FOIA applies to documents held by agencies in the executive branch of the federal government, such as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The FOIA does not apply to Congress or the judicial branch, nor does it apply to records of state or local governments. However, many state governments have their own open records laws. You may request information about a state's laws by writing the attorney general of the state.

The Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act Division/Office is responsible for administering policies, programs, and procedures to ensure DOE compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act (PA), 5 U.S.C. 552 and 5 U.S.C. 552a, respectively.

The resources on these pages are provided to aid in finding answers to questions about programs of the Department of Energy and to obtain information that is publicly available without submitting a FOIA request. If the information is not available here, please fill out the electronic DOE's Richland Operations Office and Office of River Protection FOIA Electronic Request Form